Everyone is asking – just how much do tradies earn? Is it a profitable sector to enter? Keep on reading to find out. We’ve asked 1,500 self-employed tradies in the construction industry how much they make. From identifying up and coming opportunities, to finding which trades are the most lucrative, we’ve got the scoop.
Everyone knows that income doesn’t equal profit. You might charge $200 an hour, but a sizeable chunk of that money might be going towards tools, materials and transport time and costs. Tradies also have higher requirements for insurance, keep those costs down by comparing quotes online. We’ve chosen to look at taxable income, as this is a great representation of real earnings.
Which Tradies make the most?
We received responses from tradies in so many different professions. For the sake of accuracy, we’ve only analysed the top 10 professions. And here they are:
Boilermakers are the highest-paid tradies in Australia, earning an average of $108,947 a year. Coming in second were electricians, who earned $91,445 a year, and plumbers, who earned $89,568.
Tilers were the best movers and shakers, with wages seeing a 15.8% increase between 2018 and 2019.
Unfortunately, 2019 wasn’t a good year for bricklayers, with average salaries dropping 17.7% to $68,634. Landscaper’s salaries dropped 14.8% to $68,323.
Other Trades
We received so many answers to our survey from Tradies in all different professions. Unfortunately, we simply received too few responses from some profitable occupations and couldn’t list them amongst our top 10 most profitable professions. For instance, air conditioning technicians made an average of $106,666 a year, flooring contractors made $100,428 a year and joiners made $89,500.
Concreters, earth-movers, shop-fitters, fencing and roofing contractors, riggers and stone-masons were also extremely well paid and could definitely have cracked the top 10. Unfortunately, we simply didn’t receive enough data on these professions to give statistically accurate figures.
How do Tradies shape up against the national average?
Unfortunately, Tradie’s incomes remained relatively stable between 2018 and 2019. In fact, they experienced a 0.3% reduction, on average. This isn’t any cause for concern because incomes across all sectors have remained relatively static Australia-wide.
Here’s some more good news. The national average income in Australia is $88,140, and tradies make $81,363. Being a tradie has become more and more profitable. And remember, this is just an average. Tradies who own their own businesses, manage teams, or work in remote areas or after-hours may make significantly more. You’ve also got to remember that the national average includes the salaries of corporate CEOs and executives. These salaries can be exorbitant and can really skew figures.
Takeaway points
here are some key takeaway facts.
Stability at the top
For three years in a row, Boilermakers, Electricians and Plumber have been our most highly paid professions.
Conclusion
To make big money and be sure of a successful and profitable working life, you can’t go wrong if you choose one of the top three trades. Even if you are already qualified as a different kind of tradie, it is still very possible to earn in the six figures, particularly if you are self-employed. Your income may be lower than average if you choose to work fewer hours, but this is a freedom that many tradies choose. Being a Tradie may make it easier to accommodate for other life commitments, such as family, kids, sport, travel and more.
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